A hot lunch on a wintery day is like a big warm, welcome hug for our kids when they need some comfort from the cold.

I’m often asked how to keep the food hot until lunchtime.

Well, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Boil the kettle and then pour the water into the insulated jar, be sure to pop the lids on
2. Heat up the food
3. Pour out the hot water  add the warmed up food into the container, then pop the lid on immediately.

Here are my fave insulated jars which have lasted years. Note, I got these when my kids were a bit older hence the understated silver and black vibe. Biome sell lots of other types and colours which might appeal to a younger crowd:

Thermos 450ml Wide Mouth Food Jar with Folding Spoon
In these containers I pack soups, pastas, any hot meals and also cold salads.

Kleen Kanteen TKCanister with insulated lid 8oz 237ml

I like this smaller size option to keep things warm like the chicken nuggets or smaller serves of things like soup, stew, pasta and even dumplings. They’re also great to keep things cool like yoghurt, granola and fruit, overnight oats.

10 WARM AND HOT LUNCH RECIPES

SOUP – Serve the kids their favourite soup and some bread for dipping. Find my super easy Pumpkin and Root Vegetable Soup here.

Or Spinach Lentil and Lemon Soup here.

CHICKEN NUGGETS – The morning of packing kids lunches, put some nuggets in the oven, pop into a thermos and send to school with a little tub of tomato sauce. Here’s the recipe.

PORRIDGE – Porridge is comfort food to the max, especially in the winter time. Oats are rich in the B-complex vitamins which help convert our food into fuel, keeping our bodies energised throughout the day and help us have great hair and skin. Just stir through some fruit like stewed apples. blueberries or strawberries. Find my recipe for pimped up oat porridge here.

Or Spiced Quinoa Porridge here if you’re gluten free.

CASSEROLE – Filled with chunky meat and vegetables, you guys have written to tell me how much you love my Easy Chicken and Vegetable Casserole. Here’s the recipe.

CRUMBLE – Warm up some leftover Pear and Ginger Crumble in the oven and pop into thermoses for a cosy and warming  recess or lunch. Find the recipe here. 

BAKES– Simply heat up some of this Creamy Cauliflower and Bacon Bake with some spelt pasta, pack with a fork  and voila, kids will be begging for more! Grab the recipe here.

Or this Slow Cooked Lamb Shank and Pearl Barley Soup

RICE – One of our favourite meals, Mjaddra (otherwise known as lentils and rice) derives from Lebanon. This humble dish packs a punch of flavour and can simple mixed together when heated up and just add a side of vegetable stick to munch on. Find the recipe here. 

OTHER HOT MEAL IDEAS WHICH YOU CAN FIND IN MY EASY, WHOLEFOOD LUNCHBOXES RECIPE EBOOK

Curried Lentil and Vegetable Sausage Rolls

Creamy Bacon Pasta Bake

Kale and Cannellini Bean Minestrone

If you’re looking for some sweet as well as savoury recipe inspiration, take a look at my new recipe ebook which is getting rave reviews, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life.

While you’re here, take a look at The Best Kids Lunchboxes for Kids(and the whole family), 10 Savoury School Lunchbox Ideas and 17 Sweet and Easy Lunchbox recipes.

Bren x

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I love filling my kids lunchboxes with fresh recipes and giving them something to look forward to at school at midday.

And it makes it all worthwhile when I hear my children say “I’m always excited to see what you’ve packed for my lunch, Mum!”

As a passionate home cook who believes in cooking simple recipes from scratch, I love creating tasty, nutritious recipes for my family and to share them with other parents.

As a mum, I relish the opportunity to nourish my children with home-cooked food, which means avoiding damaging additives like artificial flavours, preservatives, trans fats, and the refined sweeteners that are so common in processed, packaged food.

The 40 recipes in my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes ebook are designed to be prepared and cooked in advance.

Most of them can be made for dinner and doubled up, so for days afterwards you’ll have extra portions handy to throw into lunchboxes like a true lunchbox Ninja 🙂

It’s also amazing what goodies a Sunday sesh of a couple of hours can produce!

This recipe ebook is an ‘homage’ to kids everywhere who love eating, and who look forward to exciting and diverse lunches.

With over 200 lunchboxes to tackle every year (!), Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes was also created for the parents dreaming up a constant supply of delicious options  to keep their children happy and satisfied, while ensuring they are receiving vital nutrients as they grow physically, emotionally and intellectually.

The Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes eBook is split into 3 sections

1. My recommended lunch boxes, containers, drink bottles; my easy lunchbox system; and preferred ingredients
2. 20 sweet recipes
3. 20 savoury recipes

Plus a gorgeous photography to accompany each recipe.

I hope you’ll be inspired to create the simple, delicious recipes full of wholesome, real-food ingredients in your own home, helping your children to thrive and nourishing the whole family.

Enjoy these Raspberry Coconut Squares which is one of my kids’s favourite recipes included in the ebook.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rapadura sugar
Vanilla powder
Milk
White spelt flour
Desiccated coconut
Baking powder
Sea salt
Shredded coconut

Print

Raspberry Coconut Squares

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 250 grams butter softened
• ½ cup rapadura sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup milk of your choice
• 1 ½ cups white spelt flour
• 1 ½ cups wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup raspberry jam I use St Dalfours
• 1 – 2 cups frozen raspberries
• ¼ cup shredded coconut

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a square pan 20cm x 20cm pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on high until pale and creamy (around 2 - 3 minutes).
• Beat in egg, one at a time.
• Add vanilla and milk and stir.
• Combine white flour, wholemeal flour, desiccated coconut, baking powder and sea salt in a seperate bowl, add to the creamed mixture and fold in well.
• Place half the batter into the prepared tin and flatten using a wet butter knife.
• Spread the jam evenly over the base, then using wet butter knife carefully spread the remaining batter over the jam layer.
• Press the raspberries into the top of the batter and sprinkle generously with shredded coconut.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before
• cutting into squares. Store in airtight container for 4 days.

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life.